Morgan Stanley Takes Big Subprime-Linked Hit

Morgan Stanley has written down its revenue by $3.7 billion (about $2.5 billion after taxes) due to the deterioration in value of U.S. subprime mortgage-related exposures since August.The company said the writedowns would likely hurt its fixed-income business' fourth-quarter results, but that relative gains in other business lines may offset the concern. Morgan Stanley also said its subprime-related exposures will likely fluctuate further, but that it does not expect to provide any more updates before its regularly scheduled earnings reports. Morgan Stanley can be found online at http://www.morganstanley.com.